Top Deutsche Bank economist Ma Jun says it's because the central government is overriding the central bank, according to China Business News.

"It has been difficult to reach consensus on a rate hike," Ma said in an interview in Hong Kong yesterday, noting that "the People's Bank of China is not the final decision- maker of monetary policy."

Rate decisions tend "to represent different interests in the economy, not just the inflation control objective," said Ma, the No. 1 China analyst in polls by the magazine Institutional Investor and the top China economist in an Asiamoney survey.